Putin talks tough but cools tensions over Ukraine

Secretary of State John Kerry walks near a barricade in Kiev, Ukraine. He brought a $1 billion aid package to a nation that is fighting to fend off bankruptcy.

Secretary of State John Kerry walks near a barricade in Kiev,...

MOSCOW — Stepping back from the brink of war, Vladimir Putin talked tough but cooled tensions in the Ukraine crisis Tuesday, saying Russia has no intention “to fight the Ukrainian people” but reserves the right to use force.

Although nerves remained on edge in the Crimean peninsula, with Russian troops firing warning shots to ward off Ukrainian soldiers, global markets rose on tentative signals that the Kremlin was not seeking to escalate the conflict. Kerry brought moral support and a $1 billion aid package to a Ukraine fighting to fend off bankruptcy.

Putin, lounging in an armchair before Russian tricolor flags, made his first public comments since the Ukrainian president fled a week and a half ago. It was a signature Putin performance, filled with earthy language, macho swagger and sarcastic jibes, accusing the West of promoting an “unconstitutional coup” in Ukraine. At one point, he compared the U.S. role to an experiment with “lab rats.”

But the overall message appeared to be one of de-escalation. “It seems to me (Ukraine) is gradually stabilizing,” Putin said. “We have no enemies in Ukraine. Ukraine is a friendly state.”

Still, he tempered those comments by warning that Russia was willing to use “all means at our disposal” to protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine.

Russia agreed to a NATO request to hold a special meeting to discuss Ukraine on Wednesday in Brussels, opening up a possible diplomatic channel in a conflict that still holds monumental hazards and uncertainties. At the same time, the United States and 14 other nations formed a military observer mission to monitor the tense Crimea region, and the team was headed there in 24 hours.

While the threat of military confrontation retreated somewhat, both sides increased economic feuding. Russia hit its nearly broke neighbor with a termination of discounts on natural gas, while the U.S. announced a $1 billion aid package in energy subsidies to Ukraine.

Kerry also made a pointed distinction between the Ukrainian government and Putin's.

“The contrast really could not be clearer: Determined Ukrainians demonstrating strength through unity, and the Russian government out of excuses, hiding its hand behind falsehoods, intimidation and provocations. In the hearts of Ukrainians and the eyes of the world, there is nothing strong about what Russia is doing.”

Penalties proposed against Russia, he added, are “not something we are seeking to do. It is something Russia is pushing us to do.”

Russia took over the strategic Crimean peninsula Saturday, placing its troops around its ferry, military bases and border posts. Two Ukrainian warships remained anchored in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, blocked from leaving by Russian ships.

The new Ukrainian leadership in Kiev, which Putin does not recognize, has accused Moscow of a military invasion in Crimea, which the Russian leader denied.

Ukraine's prime minister expressed hope that a negotiated solution could be found. Arseniy Yatsenyuk said both governments were gradually beginning to talk again.